Moving the Heavens
by Itachilova101
Summary: Like Folken had said, 'People's emotions can sometimes move the heavens' and Hitomi would gladly do that and so much more just to be in Van's arms once again... and she might just have to. HV
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Well, mom was infected with a strain of the h1 n1 virus, so I'm writing to take my mind off of it for the moment. This story is hereby dedicated to my sick mama. Love you!

Just to let you all know, I felt completely jipped when I watched The Vision of Escaflowne. Indeed, they made me fall in love with the series, but the ending was one of the worst I've ever seen. It's worse that Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke COMBINED! This story proves the theory that, when you want something done right you've got to do it yourself. So, for all of you who found the ending of both the series and the movie completely atrocious, you may join me in considering this the ACTUAL ending of the story!

Love y'all!

* * *

Hitomi Kanzaki couldn't describe the feeling in the pit of her stomach as she looked into the brown eyes of her love. His black hair was mussed as usual, his wings spread out like that of an angel's making him look like an ethereal god. She was happy, of course, to see him... it had been a long time, after all. They had promised to see one another again, but she hadn't expected that he would actually come to Earth... or the Mystic Moon as he called it.

"Hitomi," he said her name, his voice coming out as a chuckle as he smiled at her from his perch in the tree behind her house, "Long time no see."

"I-I..." she stammered for words but was unable to comprehend the meaning of the words running through her mind. "I... V-Van..."

His warm smile broke out into a wide grin and he hopped down from the branch, allowing his wings to disappear once again. He had her attention, so they were no longer necessary. "I was in the area, thought I'd pay you a visit."

She snorted at that obvious lie and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right, you were _not_ in the area... unless twenty million light-years away could be considered 'in the area'."

He shrugged his shoulders, dismissing the point. "I just... I felt you and I needed to see you."

She nodded in understanding. She did understand. She had also felt so much closer to Van than ever before despite their distance and it made her want more and more to see him again, to feel his strong arms wrapped around her, to hear that honey smooth voice whispering in her ear. She had dreamed about him, hoping that he did the same and now... here he was, in her backyard, grinning that familiar grin at her.

"Merle says hi," Van said, rubbing his neck sheepishly, "She had begged me to let her come along, but..." He paused, letting out a sigh as he dropped his head to hide his flushed cheeks. "But I needed to come alone. T-To see you by myself. Merle... she just..."

"I know," she replied, trying to keep herself from jumping on him then and there. "I've missed you just as much as you've missed me and, for our first time seeing each other for so long, I'm glad it's just us."

He raised his head a little to look at her through the bangs that veiled his beautiful eyes and Hitomi just wanted to run to him and kiss him then and there. He looked so much more handsome than he had in her memories and the way his facial expressions were inadvertently seducing her was making her crazy. And he'd only been here a matter of minutes!

"How are Celena and Allen? And Millerna, how is she?"

"She and Dryden are back together," he informed her with a sly grin, "The crazy merchant was right, he really could make her fall in love with him. They had a daughter together and she's going to be..." He paused again, but this time to do the math in his head. "Three, I think. And Allen and Celena are fine, but Allen's rather overprotective of her."

She nodded. It was only to be expected. If Celena were to turn back into Dilandau, not only would Gaea be in trouble once again, but Allen would be crushed and Van would be stuck in another battle. She sighed, dismissing those dismal thoughts. That wasn't something to think about during her first reunion with Van in six years.

"You're twenty-one now, correct?" her love queried, pursing his lips in thought, once again trying to do the math.

She nodded. "I am."

He nodded, seeming thoughtful. Then, he squared his jaw, clenched his fists and looked her straight in the eye as he said, "I didn't just come here to catch up, Hitomi. I know I said that I needed to see you and, though that's correct, it's not the full truth."

"Then... what is the full truth?"

He bowed his head again, his fists clenching and unclenching, his teeth marring his lower lip. "I wanted to know if..."

"If...?"

"If you, um..." He raised his head again, a glint of determination in his eyes as he said without any reluctance whatsoever, "I wanted to know if you would come back to Gaea with me and be my queen."

Hitomi blinked, trying to comprehend what it was he had said. _Back... Gaea... queen... his... come back to Gaea and be his queen?_

Tears welled in her eyes and she rushed forward, throwing her arms around her love, burying her face in the crook of his neck as she cried. "Your queen... _your_ queen. I-I would gladly be your queen, Van!"

Then, an alarm sounded, startling her. She tightened her grip on her fiance and shouted in his ear, "What's happening?!"

"It's time to wake up!"

"What?"

"Hitomi, it's time to--"

* * *

"... wake up."

Hitomi jolted awake, sitting up in her bed with a start. "Van!" she cried, reaching out only to find her mother standing at her bedside with a tray in her hands. "M-Mom? Wh-What happened? Where am I? Where's Van?"

"You must have had a wonderful dream, sweetheart," Mrs. Kanzaki told her instead of answering her daughter's questions, "You looked so at peace sleeping there."

_A... A dream? _Well, she supposed it was obvious. Though it had felt like six years since she'd last seen Van, it had only been one and she was only sixteen, not twenty-one. Great, she'd dreamed of him again. It seemed to be happening much more often lately. "It..." she didn't know what to say. She couldn't tell her mother that she'd dreamed of her boyfriend, the king of Fanelia. She couldn't say that she'd dreamed of going back to a planet she'd visited after passing out during Track. "I... It... was a good dream." _Until you had to go and wake me up, _she wanted to add but thought better of it.

"Yukari called," Mrs. Kanzaki said, setting the tray of food down on the nightstand beside the bed, "She wanted me to ask you to call her later. She said something about a boy she wants you to meet and a double date?"

Hitomi groaned and fell back onto her bed. "Not this again."

"Still, you should call her, she said that this boy is the perfect guy for you."

"He won't be," she all but growled at her mother, tugging the pillow from under her head and burying her face under it.

"And how would you know that?"

_I know that because the perfect guy for me is on a whole other planet! _Again, she thought better of saying that out loud. She wasn't exactly feeling up to being taken away to the funny farm by the nice young men in their clean white coats. "Yukari's vision of the right man for me is some preppy jock that knows more about hair gell than anything of any use to society. Thanks, but not thanks, Mom."

Mrs. Kanzaki sighed but didn't argue. "Just try not to sleep in too late, alright, Hunny? It may be a weekend, but if you sleep all day today, you won't be able to rest for school."

"I know. I'm up." She found it much easier to keep herself from exploding on her mother's over-protective attitude by using cut-off sentences. It was also a good indicator for Mrs. Kanzaki to see that she was annoyed and had best flee before it was too late.

"Just bring the tray and dishes down when you're done."

"Yup."

"I love you."

"Me, too." With a sigh, Mrs. Kanzaki left the room, closing the door softly behind herself. Alone once again, Hitomi looked out her window and up into the sky, picturing her beautiful Van with his angelic wings spread out. Her angel... her guardian angel. "Oh, Van... I miss you."

* * *

A/N: First off, yes, I did make a reference to the Funny Farm song. Second of all, yes, I realize it's a horrible first chapter. Thirdly, yes, this is my first VoE fanfic. Lastly, no, you may not flame because flaming is nothing but a corporate slogan that supports The Man. Okay, that last one made no sense, but I don't really care because I'm tired. My sister dragged me around clothes shopping and I HATE clothes shopping.

Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hooray for chapter two! It's extremely short and not very good, but not bad for a girl going through a debilitating disease known was Writer's Block.

* * *

"Hitomi!" Yukari exclaimed impatiently, picking up the phone after the first ring, "I called hours ago, where have you been?!"

"Asleep," was Hitomi's answer, switching the phone over to the ear that could still hear and massaging the ringing one her best friend had shouted into, "It's the weekend, remember?"

"Yeah, but I had wanted you to be the first one I told about my date with Amano last night," she whined.

"Well, you can tell me now."

She sighed, but the temptation to spill all the details was too great and she gushed, "He took me to a Western-style restaurant and I had halibut. Oh, it was so pretty there, he gave the waiter a _huge_ tip so that we could have a table near the back for privacy and we had candles on the table and everything."

"Mm," Hitomi grunted.

"Which reminds me," Yukari carried on, barely stopping to breathe, "Amano wants you to meet this new transfer student he met. He took one look at a picture of you and wanted to meet you. Oh, Hitomi, it was like love at first sight! I swear, his eyes practically fell out of his head at the sight of you!"

"Mm," she repeated.

"Aren't you at all interested?"

"Not really."

"Well, why not?"

"I'm just not interested."

"Well, get interested!" Yukari exclaimed, a commanding tone to her voice, "We promised him that you would meet him tonight out on the school track and you have to be there. I mean, come on, how often does a guy fall in love with a girl just by looking at her picture?"

"Uh, the shallow, brainless, oversexed ones?"

"Ha ha," she laughed dryly. "Just be at the school by seven forty-five and he'll be there, alright?"

With a martyred sigh, she relented and asked, "Can I at least know my mystery man's name?"

"Escavan."

Hitomi had to pause to let that sink in. "Escavan? That's a bit of an odd name, isn't it?"

"Like I said, he's a transfer student, of course he'd have a weird name. Amano said that he just moved in next door to him a couple days ago and he's living with these two other transfer students... but that doesn't matter," she added when she finally realized that she'd been rambling. "He can tell you all about them and wherever he's from when you meet him tonight. Don't be late!" With that, Yukari hung up without even saying a word of parting.

Hitomi didn't like this one bit. No matter how coincidental the name Escavan was, it still hurt how close to home it hit and she wished for nothing more than to fade away into her dreams of Van once again. She missed him so much and, even though it had been over a year since they'd last seen each other, the idea of meeting another man seemed like a betrayal to him. Especially now. Lately, she had been feeling so connected to him that it was as though he was by her side.

She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, resting her forehead on her knees as a single tear slid down her cheek. She would give up everything to be with him. If he would just ask her to come back to him, she would leave this entire world behind just to be close to him. Like Folken had said, 'People's emotions sometimes move the heavens'... she would gladly do that and so much more just to be in Van's arms once again.

But that wasn't possible. The only time her wishes had ever come true was with the pendant-turned-energist her grandmother had given her and she had given it to Van. Van's wishes could come true, but hers couldn't. It just wasn't possible anymore.

She looked to the clock by the still-full breakfast tray and sighed. It was seven o'clock now and she hadn't even left her room once since being woken up hours ago. Where had her sense of time gone?

"Please, Van... please forgive me." With that small prayer said, she got off her bed and started to change into some fresh clothes to meet her secret admirer named Escavan.

* * *

"Has she been notified?" a low voice asked, sitting in the darkness, "Will she be there as planned?"

"Yes, Milord," answered a kneeling man, his long hair veiling the large smile creasing his face, "The girlfriend of our new next door neighbor called Hitomi Kanzaki and told her about meeting you outside her school. Apparently she agreed, though rather reluctantly."

"Of course she'd be reluctant." The low voice sounded offended by that comment. "Her heart has already been taken, don't you remember?"

"I do remember, Milord."

His form hidden in shadow, the person that owned that low voice nodded, knowing that his companion couldn't see it. "Now, stop calling me 'Milord', it sounds so odd coming from you of all people."

The kneeling man stood up to his full height, a head or two taller than his lord, and smirked, his clear blue eyes glinting with amusement. "Of course." He flicked some of his blond hair from his face and added, "After all, I do live to serve you."

That low voice came out as a chuckle and said, "I wonder how you were made a Knight of Caeli with that sarcastic attitude."

"I have my ways."

"Yes, you do... Allen Schezar."

* * *

A/N: Gaspeh! A twist! And it's only the second chapter! But everything shall be cleared up and we'll get to know who our mystery man is soon enough, so please be patient!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Alright, well, most of the mysteries from the second chapter are explained except for a couple because I don't want this story getting too rushed. There's nothing worse than a rushed plot line, so I'm trying to keep a steady flow of info going on here. Also, that would explain my short chapters. In my opinion, shorter chapters are a small price to pay for a well-proportioned story, wouldn't you agree?

* * *

Being that it was the middle of Fall, the sun was already beginning to set by the time that Hitomi made it to her school. It seemed weird that she would come to school on the weekend and it felt rather eerie. Sure, perhaps before she'd come back from Gaea, she would come to use the track, but now... well, she hadn't exactly been going out of her way to get to school for any other reason than school.

She leaned against the soccer post and looked at her watch. It was ten-to-eight and her little admirer still hadn't shown up. Well, she supposed that was a good thing. That way she wouldn't have to embarrass the poor man by rejecting him for a man that lived in a mystical world. Yeah, that news wouldn't be too good for his ego. Nonetheless, she waited.

"So, you came after all," an oddly familiar voice said, surprising her.

She gasped, wondering how she hadn't heard any approaching footsteps. She looked around but could find no one, there wasn't even a silhouette of anybody around her. "W-Who...? Where... Where are you?"

"Up here."

She pushed herself away from the goal post in an instant and whirled around to find a tall, dark form balancing atop the post. His silhouette and voice suggested a man, but the long hair that was gently flowing in the breeze suggested otherwise. What man would keep their hair so long nowadays? "Who are you?"

"I'm hurt," the man chuckled, "I thought you would have remembered the man you once loved."

"Amano...? When did your hair get so long?"

She may have heard the words "stupid girl", but they were so low that it could have been only her imagination. The figure stepped off the post and gracefully landed on the the ground, his knees bending to absorb the shock from the fall.

With him suddenly so close, Hitomi could finally see the man's features and she gasped. "A-Allen! But when did you... how did you... Van! Is Van with you? Where is he? Can I see him?"

Allen chuckled, placing his hands on his hips, cocking his head to one side and quirking a single blond brow. "I come all this way to see you and you blabber on about Van? How heart-breaking."

She bit her lower lip and rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "Sorry, Allen. How've you been?"

He shrugged and she rolled her eyes. If he wasn't going to talk about himself, why'd he bother complaining about her talking about Van? Wait... was he the transfer student Yukari had spoken of? Why had he come to Earth just to go to some random Japanese high school? And Yukari had also mentioned other people. Was Van one of those other people?

Allen sighed, a kind smile replacing that smirk and his stance softening into a more relaxed posture. He reached a hand out to her as he suggested, "Why don't you come with me? There are some people I'd like you to see."

"V-Van?" she asked hopefully.

An odd look glinted in his blue eyes, and she could have sworn she saw a poorly-disguised wince wrinkle his features. He gave her a half-hearted smile and reached his hand out a little further. "You have a one track mind, Hitomi. Now come on. Let's go."

She reluctantly took his hand and let him lead her away from the school, toward Amano's house... no, the house next to Amano's. A shudder of anticipation ran up her spine and her cheeks flushed, remembering those beautiful eyes of Van's. She really hoped that Van would be there, but Allen's reaction to her asking if he was there worried her. Was he not there? Well, he could have just said no, if he wasn't, but he'd just looked... pained.

Wait... what if he was hurt? Or worse, what if he was... dead? Her blood ran cold and her knees nearly buckled under the weight of that realization. Was Van dead? Was that why Allen had come to see her? To tell her that the man she loved had died? Oh, she'd known Van would get hurt if he continued to fight and she'd left him anyway! How could she have been so stupid?

"A-Allen," she murmured his name, holding his hand tighter, "Van... he isn't with you, is he?"

His hand gently squeezed hers, offering comfort as he answered, "No."

She lost any and all strength, giving it up to that one syllable, to that one word that confirmed Van's pain... that confirmed that she would never see him again. This time, her knees really did give out and she allowed Allen to catch her before she hit the ground. Tears blurred her vision and the sound of her blood flowing through her veins drowned out the knight's voice. It didn't matter what he had to say, it didn't matter where he took her. Van was dead and she was never going to see him again.

"Hitomi, please," Allen's voice echoed in her mind, "You're overreacting."

Overreacting? She was overreacting?! How could she be overreacting when the man she loved was dead? No, this was the least she could be doing. She could have taken her blond companion's sword and plunged it through her heart. Actually, she would have if she'd had any strength to do so. "He's... dead."

"N-No, he isn't!" he exclaimed, "At least not yet. He will be soon, though, if we don't get to Gaea quickly."

_He's not dead,_ she silently told herself, closing her eyes against the evidence that pointed to the contrary. _Not dead... yet?_ "But why do you need me?" she asked, "What could I possibly do to help you? And what do you mean 'not yet'? Where is he?"

"When Van was captured, he left your necklace behind," the blond told her, "We're sure that he wants us to bring you back to Gaea and use your powers to find him. We all tried to see if we could do it, but we couldn't. So, we need you."

"But I stopped fortune telling, remember?" she asked, some of her strength returning. "Th-There's no such thing as predetermined fate, so we have to make our own destinies."

"Yes, but is it really a part of our destiny for Van to die?"

Hitomi's eyes widened as the words of that rhetorical question hit home... hard. If she didn't use her powers, then Van was going to die and it would be all her fault. She didn't want Van to die!"I don't want Van to die. He can't die. He won't, not if I have any say in the matter. But... my fortune telling..."

"You won't do it again this once? For Van?"

Once again his words hit her hard and she remembered what she had thought not long before: "People's emotions sometimes move the heavens". She was willing to move the heavens to be beside Van again, she was willing to leave Earth for Gaea to be by his side. Could she not do her fortune-telling once more for him? "I'll do it," she resolved.

Allen nodded, smiling. "That's my girl. Everybody back in Gaea is looking forward to seeing you again."

She smiled, but deep inside she was in pain. She had resolved to move the heavens to be with Van again... and she may have to do just that.

* * *

A/N: So, if that man in the shadows wasn't Van, then who was he? And why is Allen calling him 'Milord'? Is Allen lying or telling the truth and who's the bad guy here? Stay tuned to find out! And some reviews wouldn't hurt, either... (hint hint, wink wink, nudge, nudge)


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I miss Lord Dilly... I want him back! He was one of my favorite characters and he had to turn into Celena... :grumble grumble, mutter, mutter:

Dilly Impersonation: Cheek... cheek... cheek... cheek... cheek... my beautiful face! *attacks Gatti and Chesta out of random rage*

* * *

The house Allen walked into didn't have a single light on and Hitomi couldn't see a single thing while Allen continued to carry her through the pitch black corridors. She wondered how her blond companion was able to walk through the darkness without stumbling once or even running into anything. She assumed that a knight of Caeli would have to be graceful, even when blind.

"Milord?" the blond called when he stopped walking, "Are you done playing the role of the mysterious benefactor? Can you turn on a light now? I'm sure Hitomi would like to be able to see who you are."

"You know," a low voice in the darkness said with an amused chuckle, "You really need to lighten up and have a little fun. You should try doing some role-playing, it'd really help with your attitude problem."

"'Attitude problem'?" Hitomi asked with a scoff, "Allen is one of the nicest guys I've ever met. Saying that he has an attitude problem would be like saying that the sky isn't blue, or the grass isn't green or the stars don't shine."

"And here I thought you were in love with Van," that voice joked.

"Of course I do," she snapped, struggling out of Allen's hold, "You don't need to be in love with somebody to point out the good qualities in them. Now turn on the damn light so that I can see who you are, we can go to Gaea and then I can save Van. From what Allen's told me, there isn't much time, so let's go."

A chuckle resounded around the room and then a light clicked on to show the owner of the voice sitting in a chair, one leg crossed over the other and his hands folded in his lap. An oh-so-amused smile creased his face and cheerfulness glinted in his eyes. His thick, wavy brown hair cascaded around his face and stubble gave him a slightly rugged appearance. He looked almost exactly the same as when Hitomi had last seen him.

"Dryden Fassa?" she asked, quirking a confused brow, "Why is Allen calling you his lord? And what do you have to do with Van, anyway?"

"Dryden is once again the king of Austuria, so he's, technically speaking, my king," Allen supplied the requested information so that his lord wouldn't have to bother with it, "Millerna realized just how much she missed him after he left and immediately had him summoned back to her not long after you left."

"She would have come with us here, but she's sort of a little too pregnant to be planet-hopping at the moment." The king of Austuria chuckled at his own wit and Hitomi rolled her eyes.

"Can we go to Gaea now?" she asked impatiently, "We have to save Van! We don't have time for jokes!"

"Well, aren't we a little hasty."

Hitomi had to stop herself from smacking that smirk off of Dryden's smug face. "It's not being hasty to want to save the one you love."

"Listen, Hitomi," Allen said soothingly, placing his hands on her shoulders, "It's not as if we can leave right at this moment. You need to pack the things you'll need, we'll need to come up with a plan, you'll need to practice your fortune-telling. I promise that we can leave as soon as we're ready, but that won't be until tomorrow at the earliest."

"Tomorrow!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air, "You expect me to wait until tomorrow? How can I just sit back and take my time when Van is God-knows-where waiting to die?"

"How can you expect us to run into battle unprepared?" a voice from behind queried and both Hitomi turned to see Gaddes leaning casually against the door frame with a long toothpick dangling loosely from his upturned lips. "Long time no see, Hitomi. Now then, about this leaving tomorrow business. The boss thinks it best that we leave when we're ready and, with all the things we have to do, we won't be ready till tomorrow."

"If we want any hope of getting the prince back," Dryden added, lighting a cigarette and taking a long drag from it before slowly blowing out the smoke and continuing, "We need to be ready for anything. If we go running in without the proper necessities, not only will we fail, but Van, along with the rest of us, will die. Does that clear it all up for you?"

With a disappointed sigh, she nodded. "Yeah. I'll be patient."

"That's my girl," Allen said once again with an approving smile. "Why don't I escort you home while these two lunkheads gather the supplies and I'll help you pack your things?"

She nodded again. "Okay."

He placed a comforting hand on one of her shoulders and guided her toward the door, giving a casual salute to his two companions. "We'll be back soon. Try not to ruin anything while I'm gone?"

"I'll have you know that I am very competent!" Dryden hollered after them, "I am a merchant, after all!"

"What does being a merchant have to do with anything?" Gaddes asked with a chuckle, "Besides, you're a king now. Hey, hand me a cigarette."

Allen chuckled and Hitomi smiled half-heartedly. Those two hadn't changed at all. Her smile fell, however, when they left the house and the two mens' voices were cut off. "Allen... how can they act so casual knowing that Van is in trouble? How can everybody act so normal? A-Am I really overreacting?"

"You're acting the way I had expected you to," the blond answered, using the hand he'd placed on her shoulder to wrap around her shoulders and pull her closer to his side, "You love him, so it's only to be expected. God knows that I had acted the same way with Celena when she was captured and then again when Van tried to kill her thinking that she was still Dilandau."

She nodded, tears welling in her eyes. "I just want him back. I just want to see him alive."

"And we're here to help you get him back. I can promise you that, if I have any say in the matter, we will get him back alive. For now, we'll have to wait... and there's something else that might help get you in the spirit and help us in the way of battle."

"What's that?" she asked, looking up at him quizzically.

Allen merely shook his head. "You'll have to wait. He was here earlier, but he left again to get a couple of things. He'll be here by sunrise. He will be a pure necessity to getting Van back."

She nodded. "And, when we do get him back, I'm never going to leave his side again."

"He'll love to hear that."

* * *

A/N:I'm not very much liking this story. It's not that I'm getting bored with it, but something just isn't clicking... if that makes sense, lol. Anyway, I'm going to continue it for as long as I can and hope that I can turn it around. Besides, I've got a few of the chapters typed out, so I can't just delete them, that'd be a waste of time!

Gaddes really reminds me of Genma from Naruto for some reason, please don't ask me why because I don't know. So, anyway, that's why Gaddes has the toothpick (even though Genma uses a senbon, but I don't think Gaddes would be the type to have a senbon on him) in his mouth and why he has that cool, laid-back attitude that is so Genma-esque. Just thought I'd give you a little bit of trivia on this chapter.

And, you know what? I miss Lord Folken, too! :Whiny cry: Please review... TT-TT


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Next chapter! Okay, so this chapter is really sort of only for the purpose of connecting together the time span between the ending of the last chapter and when they leave for Gaea, so I'm really sorry if it seems filler-ish, my lovelies! Try to enjoy it, though, okay? n.n Oh, and this chapter also explains in depth who the other surprise dude is! You're gonna love it, I just know it.

_

* * *

Mom:_

_I went and met the boy Yukari wanted to introduce me to and, much to my surprise, we really hit it off. He sort of looks like a cross between Fabio and Britney Spears and he's an altogether really nice guy. He's not much older than me and I really, really like him. Apparently he really really likes me, too, because we have decided to elope._

_Don't come looking for me because I can guarantee you won't find me. _

_Love you!_

_Hitomi Kanzaki_

Once Hitomi finished writing her note, she folded it in half and placed it on her pillow. It definitely wasn't the best way to go, but at least her parents wouldn't think that the man she met a few hours before had kidnapped and murdered her. After making sure that the note would be easy to find, she started packing her duffel bag with clothes, a flashlight, the mace her father had given her, the Swiss army knife her uncle had given her and took a couple of the knives from the kitchen.

She had hated all the violence that had been going on in Gaea while she had been there and it had been a huge point of tension between her and her friends there. However, things had changed. The life of the man she loved was in jeopardy and she would be damned if she wasn't going to fight for him. He had fought for her so many times in the past, she could do the same in return.

Looking out her window, she sighed when she saw that the sun had finally begun to rise.

"I just spoke with Gaddes and Dryden," Allen told her, walking into her bedroom after knocking. "Apparently they're all set and they've got a plan on what we're going to do to infiltrate the enemy's borders once we find them. We should get going."

She nodded, turning to the blond. "I'm ready to go."

He took one look at her tear-stained cheeks and his face twisted into one of pain. He approached her and gathered her in a hug. "Promise me you won't do anything rash, okay?"

"But I have to—"

"No," he interrupted firmly, pulling her loser to his chest, "We're going to rescue Van, we're not going in there with the intent of dying if we can't get him back. Promise me, Hitomi, that you will not do anything that could purposefully put your life at risk. Promise me."

"I promise," she mumbled, leaning her forehead on his shoulder.

"Good." He let her go and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, taking her bag for her as he walked with her out of the bedroom. "Because, even if Van is... unattainable... he wouldn't want you to die over him. He would want you to live in place of him."

"I know."

Then, something beeped and Allen let her go so that he could pull a walkie-talkie out of his own beg. "Talk to me."

"He's here," Gaddes' voice burst out of the electronic device along with a lot of hissing static, "He's going nuts knowing that Hitomi is coming to see him, so you'd best get here quickly. I really think he's going to give himself arthritis in the thumbs from twiddling them so much."

Allen chuckled. "I think we might have the same thing happening on my end." He looked at Hitomi through the corner of his eye and she quickly stopped fiddling with the hem of her shorts. He chuckled. "We're on our way. Just have him relax because if he's too excited, he's going to scare Hitomi more than he will when he's fine."

"Got it, Boss."

The hissing stopped and Hitomi looked up at him with confusion. "Who's here? Who is it?"

Allen shook his head, looking sad. "If I tell you who it is, you have to promise me that you will wait for me to explain before you go jumping to conclusions."

She nodded.

He waited a moment, seemingly trying to find the best possible way of breaking the news to her. "The man that is waiting back at what we're considering our base is..." he paused, wincing. "Van."

"WHAT!" she screeched, picking up her pace, practically dragging Allen down the street alongside her. "Van's here? But you said he was captured! Was it a lie? I have to see him!"

Allen sighed, running alongside her for lack of any other choice, "I told you to wait for me to explain, Hitomi! The man that is at the house is Van, but... not Van. He was Van's replacement to keep us from realizing that he was missing. He's not even human. He's a machine, not unlike a miniature Escaflowne that was made to look, act, walk and talk like Van Fanel.

"Celena had a small relapse and burnt hums with a lit match and his skin singed, it didn't burn. It's technically not him, but he has all of Van's most recent memories, spanning back not long before Fanelia's destruction. He's in love with you, just like the real Van is."

"So... it's not Van?" She slowed down, walking at a normal pace again.

Allen shook his head. "No."

"But he's like a replica?"

He nodded.

"So, that's what you meant," she murmured, "Looking at him will reassure me because I can fool myself that Van is really there... and he'll be able to fight like Van, so we have an advantage. I understand."

"I knew you would."

They walked into the house and they barely even had enough time to close the door before Robo-Van was in front of them, inspecting Hitomi with great scrutiny. He was holding his chin with a thumb and forefinger as he circled her and Allen sighed. Then, Robo-Van stood to his full height and grinned. "Hitomi!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms around her. "It's me, Van! Though, people are telling me that I'm really not Van, so I guess I'm not Van, but I think I'm Van, so I'm Van!"

Hitomi looked at Allen quizzically.

"He's started to create his own personality... that's the downside of AI, the robots get a mind of their own."

His words barely registered in her mind though. All she could think was that feeling this Van's—that technically wasn't Van—arms around her was the best feeling in the world. He felt exactly the same as the real Van and she never wanted to let him go. She held him tighter as he continued to talk her ear off.

* * *

A/N: Robo-Van... heh heh, I like that. And I reallt do think that Allen looks like a cross between Fabio and Britney spears: he's got the raging-and-yet-tamed masculinity, but he's also got that gentleness that people think is feminine for some reason. Though, I probably only came to that conclusion because both of them have long, pretty hair that's capable of flowing in the breeze. XB


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Next chapter! Yay! This one has some lovey dovey in it, so I hopes you like it!

* * *

"I believe this is yours, little lady," Dryden said, walking up to Hitomi and handing her the necklace her grandmother had given her, "I'm sure it's happy to be reunited with its rightful owner once again."

She took the necklace, inspecting it with faint interest. It looked exactly the way it had when she'd given it to Van all those months ago. It had such luster and brilliance to it that it looked like the energist Van had used in his Escaflowne. "Pretty," she murmured, but really all she could think about was returning it to Van. That's where it was meant to be and she would make sure that she would be the one to give it to him once again.

"He treasured that necklace," Allen told her softly, "He never took it off, if anybody asked him to let them take a look at it, he adamantly refused. He took care of it as though it was his life. No, as if it was _you_."

She smiled. "That's what I had hoped all this time... that he would keep it in memory of me."

"And that's exactly what he did."

She smiled softly, holding the chain of the necklace in her fist and held it firmly to her chest. No matter how close to Van he looked and felt, Robo-Van had most likely never even met the real man, that meant that this necklace was the closest thing she had to the man she loved."Van... I wish you could feel my love."

_Hitomi..._

Her eyes snapped open and she turned to Robo-Van. "What was that you said?"

Robo-Van blinked in confusion and said, "I didn't say anything. Did you guys?" He looked to the three other men who each shook their head in the negative. "Nope... maybe you're hearing things, my love?"

Gaddes snickered at how the little robot had sneaked in the "my love" part while Dryden rolled his eyes and Allen seemed to have not noticed as he was eying Hitomi with an intense look on his face.

"But I heard—" she stopped when realization dawned on her. "The necklace!"

"What about it?" the robot questioned curiously.

"Van is... he's... he's speaking through the necklace!" she exclaimed, tears welling in her eyes.

Allen smiled."Your psychic abilities are coming back already, Hitomi! You and Van are connected by that necklace so you can hear each other. Speak to him!"

She closed her eyes once again and expanded her mind toward the voice that was still echoing in her mind. _V-Van...? Are you there? Can you here me?_

_I can hear you, _the real voice answered, his voice as beautiful as she remembered it, _Long time no talk, huh?_

_Oh, Van! Are you alright? Where are you? We're coming to get you, so tell us where you are and who took you. _

_One question at a time, _he said, a faint chuckle in his voice, _I'm alright... for now, but I'm worried that this streak of remaining unharmed isn't going to last much longer. I'm sorry for involving you in this, Hitomi... if I'd had any other choice, I would have gone with that. Besides... I-I wanted to see you._

_I want to see you, too! That's why you have to tell me where you are!_

_That's the ting, I don't know where I am. I was knocked out by some sort of gas after I managed to leave the necklace on the table and I woke up in a prison cell. But there's a window here... I think I can show it to you._

_Show it to me? _she queried quizzically and yet so hopefully.

_Yeah, like how our voices are reaching each other_, _I think I can send you the things I see... let me try. _There was nothing but silence after that and then a mental image popped into her mind. _Does it look familiar to you?_

"Wait a sec," she murmured, paying close attention to the buildings sown through her mind's eye. "That looks like... Zaibach?"

"Zaibach?" Dryden asked, his voice distant as Hitomi continued to concentrate of Van, "But that's not possible. Zaibach fell after the death of Dornkirk."

"No, that's definitely Zaibach," she said, going back to speaking with Van. _Did you know that they left behind a robot to take your place so that nobody would suspect anything?_

_Yeah, I remember them planting it. Apparently it's my copy in every way?_

Hitomi opened her eyes to look at Robo-Van who was currently inspecting a Dandelion, talking about how Gaea doesn't have such nice flowers. She rolled her eyes and answered, _I wouldn't say in _every_ way. _

_Well, just don't go falling in love with him while I'm gone, alright?_

_Never!_

Van chuckled and a tear escaped Hitmomi's eyes without her noticing. _I've got to go now, my love._

_No! _she exclaimed, _Please, I've been wanting to talk to you for a year, you can't leave me again. Please, Van!_

_I'm sorry, Hitomi, but I have to make sure I don't look suspicious and you have to come find me. I promise that we'll have the rest of our lives to talk to each other once all this is over. I promise, if I have to move the moons and stars to make it happen._

She sighed and nodded. _Okay, Van... I love you._

_I love you, too._

And, just as quickly as his voice had appeared, it was gone, leaving Hitomi feeling more lonely than ever. She opened her eyes to four men who each looked sympatetic. "Let's go, she whispered and allowed them to circle her as she used her necklace to transport her back to Gaea.

* * *

A/N: Remember in the final episode how Hitomi and Van are having that mental conversation? Well, I figured that if the original owner of VoE could do that, so could I! So, I decided that it was done thanks to the all-powerful necklace and voila! A chapter has been born!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Well, here's the next chapter... it's got a bit of World War history in here, so my deepest apologies to anybody who finds it boring. To tell you the truth, WWII has always been my favorite topic in social studies. n.n

* * *

Gaea looked pretty much the same as when Hitomi had left except that Fanelia had been fully rebuilt during the time that she had been gone. However, by just standing where she was, she could tell that there had been a significant change. Gaea was no longer a world at war and she could feel the air of peacefulness all around her, but she couldn't enjoy it... not without Van.

"Alright, Hitomi," Allen said, taking out a map of Gaea and placing it on the ground, "Come do your thing."

Very reluctantly, she knelt in front of the map and took the necklace from around her neck. She closed her eyes, then released the pendant so that it could swing while she moved her hand over the map. _No... no... no... no... wait... _"There!" she said, dropping the necklace over the spot where she was sure Van was. "He's there."

Allen knelt beside her, Dryden crouched in front of her, Gaddes beside him and Robo-Van, instead of sitting at her other side, crouched behind her to peer over her shoulder. She was sure it was only an excuse to touch her, though.

"You were right," Allen said with a disappointed sigh, "That would be where Zaibach once stood... and where it's most likely standing once again."

"Does this mean that there'll be another war?" Dryden queried, falling onto his rear so that he could prop his elbow on his knee and lean his chin on his fist.

"Perhaps," Allen answered, making his fore- and middle fingers walk across the map from Fanelia to Zaibach and then from Zaibach to Austuria. "That's a long way to go without the Crusade or any mode of transportation," he said mainly to himself and then muttered a curse. "We most definitely can't go to Zaibach as we are... we'll have to stop at the nearest village and get some horses."

Dryden nodded in agreement. "Good idea. We'll also need a place to shack up for the time being, Hitomi's probably exhausted."

"I'm fine," she lied. Actually, if she hadn't knelt on the ground, she would probably be flat on her face by now. She was dead tired... and hungry. "I'll survive."

"Don't cause yourself to suffer for our sakes," the fair-haired knight told her grimly, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, "That won't do you or any of us any good and, if it doesn't do any of us any good, imagine how bad that'll make it for Van. He's counting on you."

She nodded.

"And, after you've rested, you could do a reading."

Her head snapped up at that and she stared wide-eyed at Allen. "What? But... I-I can't! Remember what happened the last time I did that? I nearly destroyed Gaea! B-Besides, I don't have my Tarot cards with me, I put them away as soon as I got back to Earth and I swore to never touch them again."

"Listen, Missy," Gaddes said, pointing his toothpick at her, "If we want any hope of saving Van, we're going to have to go all out on this one. To go all out, you'll need to find out whatever it is we're up against."

"Don't be so rude," Allen told his second-in-command before turning back to Hitomi, "Please, Hitomi? You said that you would use your powers to help us find Van, you didn't think that meant also doing your readings?"

Actually, she hadn't and now she was feeling stupid. She'd had no idea what she was getting herself into. "But, last time..."

"You know what you're doing," he persisted, "I have my utmost faith in you. You just have to have faith in yourself."

She sighed and nodded her relent. "But I don't have my cards."

"We got some when we were on Earth," Dryden said slyly.

"How did you do that without any Japanese money?"

He chuckled with that same sly attitude and answered with a mysterious wink, "I have my ways, little missy."

"He swiped them," Robo-Van said cheerfully, obviously quite glad to be the one to answer his beloved Hitomi's technically-unanswered question, "That's what he told me!" Dryden's eyes narrowed on the little robot and said robot shrunk away behind Hitomi.

The afore-mentioned psychic girl sighed again and once again nodded her relent. "Alright, I'll do a reading, but don't blame me if I'm a little rusty."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

* * *

It took a very long time, but, eventually, the group found themselves in a rundown little village. Actually, rundown was an understatement: it would be safer to say debilitated or decrepit. All of the buildings were in bad shape, some of them even missing chunks where something had most likely crashed into it; the few people that were walking around looked quite beat up and poor, their eyes as round and timid as a rabbit's, searching for any sign of danger... actually, decrepit or debilitated didn't even do this hellhole justice.

"Is it safe here?" Hitomi asked softly, worried that if she raised her voice too high the few people that dared roam the streets would retreat back into their dilapidated buildings, "Maybe we should go somewhere else?"

Allen looked grim as he answered, "I have a feeling that most of the villages in this area are going to be this way."

"But... why? I-I thought that Gaea was no longer at war? Who could have done this?"

"Boss," Gaddes called, his face and voice reflecting the grimness in his superior's face and voice, "You realize where this is, don't you? You can see why this place is the way it is, right?"

"Of course I can," the knight of Caeli answered with a sigh as he ran his fingers through his fair hair, "This is the present state of the land formerly known as the Zaibach Empire. The Battle of Destiny was held here and, even after the war ended, people wanted to be sure that Zaibach couldn't revitalize itself and so they stripped it of all its resources and then completely destroyed it."

"That's so cruel!" she exclaimed, looking around at all the poor civilians... all the poor _innocent_ civilians.

"But ultimately necessary," Gaddes added through teeth that kept the now-mangled toothpick in place, "These people may have been civilians, but they were supporting Zaibach and Dornkirk in one way or another and would have gladly rebuilt the Empire. We did only what we had to do to make sure that another war didn't break out."

"I did some research on the Mystic Moon," Dryden finally pitched in, "Apparently you had a war you all called 'The War to End All Wars'... but it wasn't your planet's final battle. Apparently twenty or thirty years later another war broke out as a means for revenge for the conclusion of the first war?"

Hitomi reluctantly nodded. "Yeah, but... but that was different!"

"In what way?" the merchant/king asked, his voice suddenly cold, very unlike the man she remembered, "Tell me how it's different."

"Well... Adolph Hitler was mentally unstable."

"And Dilandau wasn't?" he demanded, "And his followers weren't?" He gestured toward the villagers, getting caught up in his rant, and said villagers scurried away from what they assumed was an outright show of anger toward them. "And you can't tell me that these people weren't unstable to believe that fighting could bring out peace. That is such an obvious contradiction that a person would have to be either insane or extremely stupid to believe such a thing."

"Don't be mean to my Hitomi!" Robo-Van exclaimed with indignation, "Nobody speaks to my Hitomi like that and lives!"

"Alright, you three," Allen, ever the peaceful mediator, said in soothing tones, "There's no need to argue over this." He turned to Hitomi. "Yes, it may seem that what was done was wrong, but, in the long-run, it was for the good of all of Gaea." Then, the turned to Dryden, his tone not-so-placating, "You may be the king of Austuria, but you have no need to act so high-and-mighty. Especially not toward the person who is saving your ass."

_Allen: 1 Dryden: 0, _Hitomi thought with a mental smirk, that inside smirk faltered, however, when she thought, _And since when was I Robo-Van's?!_

Dryden's lower lip jutted out as though he was going to pout, but everybody could see that he was taking that into consideration. It seemed that Dryden hadn't thought of it as Hitomi saving his ass, but saving Gaea's (metaphorical) ass. Hitomi couldn't blame him: she hadn't thought of it as saving neither Dryden's nor Gaea's (metaphorical) asses, but saving Van.

"Now, listen up all of you," Allen declared, "There must be some area here that was left standing or that was rebuilt if Van is here... unless the buildings you saw were in bad shape, also?"

Hitomi shook er head. "They were in decent repair... I would have never believed that those buildings were here of all places."

"Alright, then let's get the Hell out of here before we're found out and go into the next village for what we need."

Everybody nodded and they set out.

* * *

A/N: Okay, the way I see it, the Battle of Destiny was sort of like our world's WWI and they're going to have their own version of a WWII now. I think it makes some sort of sense... but it could just be because of my screwed up state of mind, lawlz. n.n;

* * *


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Holy crap! I know nothing about Tarot cards or readings, so I had to do a whole mess of research on both. It was hard and now my head hurts... T.T But I found the cards I needed and I found out how to read them, so now I have predicted the future of this story! XD Yay!

Anyway, for any of you who do know stuff about Tarot readings and all that, I'm sorry if some of it is wrong or if I made a mistake somewhere. I did do my best, though, and it was killer on my brain! I don't think it'll be recovering from this one... *sniffle*

Anyhow, enjoy please!

* * *

Hitomi stared at the deck of Tarot cards in front of her with disdain, then turned her gaze to the three men and one robot sitting around the table, watching her with interest. With a sigh, she closed her eyes and started to deal out the cards the way she always had. She placed one card in the middle of the table with one turned horizontal on top of both of it. Then, she placed a card at each side of these cards and, after that, put four cards in a row on one side.

She allowed a wavering breath to enter through her slightly-parted lips and then began the reading.

"Okay," Hitomi murmured, placing her fingers on the first card, what Tarot-readers called the Significator. "The Fool. Beginnings, most likely of a journey that could be either mental, physical or spiritual. The overturning of the norm or states by happenings that are unexpected. I'm guessing that this is referring to the journey to get Van back and find whoever took him. "

Allen nodded. "Makes sense."

Then, she pointed to the horizontal card and she sighed sadly. Just as she thought. "This card represents the obstacle we're going to have to face and... well, it's The Devil, but reversed. This one means that our opposition is an abuser of authority, seeking nothing but their own greed. They have uncontrolled ambition and could possibly have even worse characteristics than the ones I just spoke of. In short, the person we're up against is pure evil with no speck of good will in his heart." So closed er eyes so that she could keep herself from looking Allen's way. There was only one person that she knew of in Gaea that would fit that description... and her blond-haired friend was not going to like it.

She bit her lower lip as a vision of that evil man's insane laughter echoed in her mind and she had to suppress a shudder. This couldn't be... Dilandau was dead. Wait, no he wasn't, he'd just reverted back into Celena. Oh, God, Allen was not going to like this.

"Hitomi?" said male called softly, "Are you alright? Do you need to rest?"

She shook her head and continued, pointing to the third card, the one above the first card. "The Wheel of Fortune. This one shows what our hopes are and it looks like we're hoping for a quick and easy end to this feud with little trouble. Unfortunately, it seems that this card is at odds with The Devil and our hopes are probably irrelevant at this point."

"So, we won't have a quick and easy end?" Robo-Van asked with disappointment.

"I doubt it." She pointed to the fourth card, the one below the first. "The Queen of Wands reversed. A very bitter, often overbearing and envious person with the tendency to dominate. Somebody very paranoid who often imagines that people are out to get him or her even when no ill-will is actually intended. This one signifies the past in relation to the spread, so we've already come in contact with this person."

"Why do I get the feeling that there's a connection between this card and The Devil?" Allen asked with coldness in his voice.

Hitomi sighed. Of course he'd make the connection. There was no choice but to be completely honest about this. "Probably because there is a connection," she answered darkly, "I have a feeling that Dilandau is going to return.

"Impossible," the blond growled, "He reverted back to Celena, there's no way for him to come back. I won't allow it."

She nodded. "I'm just telling you what I see." Next, she pointed to the fifth card, the one to the left of the first. "The Chariot. Well-deserved success and hardships that ended in worldly victory. This was in our past and, with the way these cards are looking, I doubt it's in our future."

Allen cursed under his breath.

She pointed to the card to the right of the first card. "Ace of Cups reversed. Symbolizes a change for the worst. This card is for future influences, so our future isn't looking too bright at all."

This time, Dryden and Gaddes joined Allen with their own curses.

She pointed to the first card in the row of four. "Three of Swords reversed. The attitudes toward all of this are of spiritual and mental confusion. We're going to feel lost and our inner peace is going to fall apart."

"I think it already has," Robo-Van murmured, pointing toward the three men. They each looked about ready to throw themselves out the window. "Those three are taking it pretty hard, I think."

She nodded. "Should I stop?" she asked the three men, reaching over to place her hand over Allen's shaking one. "If you don't want me to continue, just say the word and I'll stop right now."

Allen bowed his head and said one simple word, his voice as cold as ice. That single solitary word was "Continue."

She nodded and reluctantly took her hand back, turning to the cards once again. "The High Priestess. Something about a friend or family member has yet to be revealed, but we must remain patient and that something will be revealed. Hidden influences, most likely somebody close to us, is affecting the outcome of our issues and there's the influence of a woman in there."

"Celena," Allen whispered softly, bowing his head even further. "Celena is... she's going to turn back into Dilandau, isn't she?"

Hitomi sighed and said, "It looks very likely, but I can't say for sure." She left out the part where she was ninety-nine-point-nine-nine percent sure that it would happen and quickly turned back to the cards so that she could read the last two. She pointed to the third card. "Temperance reversed. Imbalance, volatility, poor judgments and fickle decisions. Conflicting interests, disagreements, restlessness and instability. We fear that we will make the wrong decision too late and everything will fall apart."

She sighed and placed a finger on the tenth and final card. "The Tower. The end result of all of this is going to be disruption, conflict, change and sudden, violent loss. Everything we know and hold dear will be in ruins and everything will be forever changed, irreparably different. There will be widespread repercussions and we will have a change of residency and work, most likely both at the same time. In the end, however, there will be freedom and enlightenment."

She looked into the faces of her comrades and saw in their eyes the same thing that was running through her mind. None of them believed that their would be any freedom when all this was over... everything was going to be gone.

* * *

A/N: Okay, so I tried to re-word all of the Tarot card meanings, but some bits and pieces are copied, so, for legal purposes, I'll give you guys the name of the website I went to. It's called "paranormality-dot-com"! Okay? Okay! Hope you enjoyed the horrible angstiness of this chap!

Oh, yeah... they're gonna be moving the heavens alright!


	9. Chapter 9

A/N:Happy Civic Holiday/Heritage Days/Family Day! ... It depends on where in Canada one is for what holiday they're celebrating and... if you're not in Canada, then you can ignore me and go on not understanding what the hell this Canadian is saying.

Wow... last chapter was a toughy... I hope it wasn't too hard for you guys to read because of boringness... Well, today, you get to see a bit of Van's POV, so enjoy!

* * *

Hitomi was close... Van could feel her presence. He stood from the little cot that squeaked when he moved as much as a toe and looked out the barred window, trying to see if he could spot the girl he loved. Unfortunately, he could see nothing. The building he was in was more of a tower and the few people he could see were as small as ants. He sighed with disappointment and leaned his forehead on one of the bars.

He missed Hitomi. He had dreamed so many times over the past year of going to the Mystic Moon to visit her, but he didn't have the courage. She had promised that she would never forget him, but what if she had? That was his ultimate fear and that was what kept him in Fanelia all that time. Then, he felt that ignorance was not as blissful as people seemed to think and had prepared to leave for Hitomi's planet... only to be ambushed.

"Hitomi," he murmured sadly, closing his eyes against the sight of his prison. He much preferred the picture of Hitomi that appeared through the darkness of his mind's eye.

He hoped she would be safe, but if who he suspected was behind all of this was the mastermind here, he doubted she would remain unharmed for long. The only thing they had on their side if Dilandau was coming back was that Dilandau was about as intelligent as a bag of bricks... the pyromaniac bit might become troublesome, though.

He went back to the cot and winced as it groaned indignantly as his weight settled on it. He would give anything to have Hitomi with him here... even if only for a minute. He had told her that he would move the heavens and the stars to be with her again and he meant it. If he could just get out of this cell...

Then the light reflecting off of something caught his eye and he looked in the direction. A smirk claimed his lips and he rushed toward his find.

* * *

"Brother!" Celena exclaimed, rushing out of the Austurian castle with Millerna in tow, "Brother Allen! Oh, I missed you!" She threw her arms around Allen and said knight of Caeli wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly.

"I missed you, too, Celena."

Hitomi had to look away. It was just too hard to watch Allen, such a close friend, look so pained. She remembered how happy he had been to find out that his sister was still alive and now he was about to lose her... again.

"Hitomi!" that loud exclamation stole Hitomi's attention and she looked up to see Merle rushing out of the castle on all fours, a smile on her face and tears in her eyes. When she had reached her target, she pounced, trowing her arms around her friend. "Oh, Hitomi, it was horrible! Lord Van was taken!"

She nodded, wrapping her arms around the younger girl. "I know... but we're going to get him back. We already know where he is, so all that's left is to get him and hope to stay away from any of the bad guys." She didn't add that that would be unlikely with one of the bad guys being in their group.

Merle buried her face in Hitomi's neck and cried while Hitomi continued to hold her. "We've never been apart this long... it's so scary being without him."

Hitomi nodded. She knew the feeling. Not knowing whether he was safe or not and, if he was safe, how long that safety would last. It was killing her from the inside out.

_Hitomi! Hitomi, can you hear me? Hitomi!_

Said psychic girl nearly screeched at the sudden screeching inside her head and she quickly closed her eyes to concentrate on Van's voice. _Van? Yeah, I hear you. Are you okay? What's going on? Are you in trouble?_

_No, I'm fine... but I'm busting my way out of here! I'm getting out of the God-forsaken place and I'm coming straight to you. Are you in Austuria now?_

"_What_?!" Hitomi screeched both silently and aloud. _How are you getting out? What do you mean?_

_I don't have much time to explain, but one of the guards got careless and dropped a small dagger. I can use it to get the door open and fight off the guards I come across. I'm working on the door right now and I should have it open soon._

_We're on our way to help you, Van! Sit tight for a little while and we'll be there, okay?_

_I'll wait as long as I can, Hitomi, but it isn't long._

_We'll be there very soon, I promise!_

Then, the conversation ceased and she turned to Allen, saying i a loud, authoritative tone, "Prep the Crusade! The battle's starting sooner than we expected!"

Allen blinked in surprise and asked, "How soon is soon?"

She didn't even mull it over, just answered, "An hour or so?"

And then Allen started shouting at Gaddes to prep the Crusade as he rushed into the castle to grab everything he would need. Robo-Van followed, obviously expecting to play a part in whatever was going to happen next. Hitomi nodded to Dryden and Millerna and silently prayed that they would make it in time. Van was strong and Zaibach was pretty weak, but there was no way her love could fight off all the Zaibach soldiers and emerge from the border unharmed.

"Hurry!" she cried, turning to Gaddes who was running around like a chicken with its head cut off to get everything done as soon as possible.

* * *

A/N: FWI, I REALLY don't like Merle... she's a whiy little kitten that can't do a thing for herself while Van's away. Please don't kill me, people-who-like-Merle... please? ^^;


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Surprise at the end of this chapter! XD You'll never guess and I'm not telling, so you'd better read fast or else the suspense will kill you!

* * *

Not long after, everybody had loaded themselves into the Crusade and they were on their way to Zaibach to kick some bad-guy butt and save Fanelia's king. Hitomi stood looking out one of the windows, watching as they drew closer to where Van was probably fighting for his life by now.

"Come on, come on..." she murmured impatiently as the Crusade continued on in its lazy pace. She turned to the man at the wheel, "Can't you make this thing go any faster?"

"Not if we want any chance of being able to stop in time," he answered.

"Have patience, Hitomi," Allen said soothingly, "We're going much faster than we would have by foot and it should really only take five or ten minutes for us to get to Zaibach. Van is strong, he won't let himself get hurt this early in the game."

She nodded, but her fears, along with her impatience, could not be quelled so easily. She continued to look at the approaching land that had formerly been the Zaibach Empire with rising fear. She could just see the battle now: an entire Empire (even in shambles) against one warrior... one prince... one man... one mortal man that could die if hurt too badly. She had to close her eyes against the horrid sight her imagination created for her.

"Alright, guys," Allen hollered, catching everybody's attention, "Let's get off here to establish an element of surprise. Dryden, Millerna and Merle can all stay here and take care of the Crusade while we're gone. Everybody else, let's go."

"Wait!" Merle cried, speaking out for the first time since Van had contacted Hitomi via telepathy, "I want to help Lord Van, too, let me come along!"

"You'd best stay here," Hitomi told her, wrapping an arm around the cat-girl's shoulders, "It'll be safer."

"But—"

"Hitomi's right," Allen piped up, "It'll be safer for everybody if you remained here with Dryden and Millerna. We can't stop what we're doing to rescue you if you get yourself in trouble. It's the easiest way and right now we need whatever luxury we can get."

With a martyred sigh of relent, Merle reluctantly nodded. "I'll stay here."

The fair-haired knight nodded, then approached Hitomi, a sword in hand. "Van will never forgive me for this, but we need your help, Hitomi... please help us fight?"

She nodded gravely and took the sword by the hilt, holding it with both hands. When Allen let go of it, she nearly tipped over from the sudden weight. It was heavier than it appeared to be. Allen opened a door and threw a rope that was tied to the door handle out the side. He grabbed Hiomi by the waist and jumped, taking hold of the rope to slow their descent by a fraction. He landed gracefully on his feet, put her down, then moved out of the way so that the others could followed.

Robo-Van followed, a look of pure elation on his face, as though he were on a ride at an amusement park instead of taking a leap that could possibly be the final leap of his life. When he landed, he did a twirl, giggling like a little kid and then fell flat on his back. "Again!"

"That idiot is going to give us away," Allen growled and shoved his foot into Robo-Van's mouth to mute the elated laughter that could only belong to a child but belonged to an insane robot dealing with a debilitating personality crisis.

* * *

Van could wait no longer. From his experiences in the cell over the past while, he had memorized the guards' schedules and he knew that they would be coming to check on him soon. It would be smart to wait until the guards showed up, then he could take them down, take their weapons and their keys. Te keys and the weapons would be most invaluable to him at the moment.

So, he sat on his rotten cot, playing an unnerving waiting game that tore at every inch of him. He was ready to go! Come on! Let's go! Why wouldn't the guards just get their asses in there so that Van could beat the puss out of them and find Hitomi!

Then, he heard the lazy, unsuspecting footsteps of somebody sauntering down the corridor toward his cell. He tried to make it look like he was relaxed, but he braced himself, preparing to pounce just when the time was right. Then, there was the sound of a key being jammed into the lock, a bolt clicking and then the door swinging open.

Okay, this was it... he was going to pounce as soon as the person stepped over the threshold. He was going to use his dagger to slit the guy's throat, then he was going to strip him of all his weapons—and peraps some armor just to be safe—and his keys, and then he was going to head straight to Hitomi, killing any misfortunate bastard that had the stupidity to get in his way.

But, when the man walked into the cell, Van started to lunge and then stopped. This wasn't a guard. The prince's eyes widened, his jaw going slack, his lungs suddenly working overtime and yet unable to dgest any of the oxygen they were rapidly consuming.

A hellish chuckle—that oh-so-familiar, mad, insane and ultimately evil chuckle—ripped from the man's throat and all Van could do was stare dumbly at the man who had so obviously risen from the dead. "Surprised to see me, Van Fanel?"

Just as the man was whispering those words, a vision hit Hitomi, but there was no sight to it, only heart-stopping noises: the sound of Van screaming in both pain and horror mixed with deranged laughter coming from another source. That was when Hitomi truly realized that it was too late, that the war had started... Dilandau Albatou had finally awakened and he was dead-set on finding Van.

* * *

A/N: Okay, you guys probably aren't surprised and I don't blame you... but I bet your wondering how Dilandau is in Zaibach when Allen left Celena in Austuria, eh? Eh? *nudge nudge* Well, stay tuned to find out! Some reviews might help, as well, because everybody knows that they stimulate the creative glands in one's body... wherever they are.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: I Luffs the Dilly-sama! XD So, unfortunately, I'm at odds with myself... T_T You see, I want Dilly-sama to live, but to let Dilly-sama live is to forfeit Hitomi's and Van's happy ending and to do that... well, you would all butcher me alive and then roast up all the pieces, feeding them to homeless peoples. I dun wanna be bum food! DX So, I must ponder. Your input would really help... though I do have a pretty good idea of what to do. Still, I'm not entirely sure how plausible it is and, in writing, EVERYTHING MUST BE PLAUSIBLE!!! Seriously, it's in the rule book somewhere... Chapter six, section four, subsection 3, paragraph D or something like that.

* * *

"This is... impossible," Van said, staring into the wide, crazed ruby red eyes that belonged to none other than Dilandau Albatou, the of the former battalion known as the Dragonslayers. "This can't be possible. Completely impossible." His brain seemed to be stuck on the word "impossible".

"Is it?" Dilly-sama asked with a look of pure elation, "It is really, Mr. Van Fanel?" His voice sounded the way it always had, loud and boisterous with that deep, sharp edge to it that struck fear into the hearts of many and was often the last sound a person facing him ever heard.

Finally regaining himself, Van tried to send Hitomi a message, but all he got in return were little tidbits of her thoughts. All of the little snippets seemed to be centered around Van, Dilandau and the weight of the sword in her hands. He had no time to think about the sword bit, however, because the pyromaniac in front of him was already unsheathing his sword and preparing to attack.

Van leaned forward so that he was hunched over on the cot, his chin inclined so that he looked up at Dilandau as the sword came bearing down. At the last possible moment, the prince lunged out of the way, leaving enough of a time frame to keep from being sliced open with the sword, but not enough time for the crazed man waving a sword around to redirect his swing. He managed to get behind the man and, instead of knocking Dilandau out like he had originally planned, he simply ran hellbent for leather out of the cell and down the corridor, hoping he would run into somebody before Dilandau ran into him.

* * *

"We have to go!" Hitomi screamed as the last man finally landed on the ground and Merle pulled back the rope, "Dilandau is going to find Van! Van doesn't even have a sword or any armor! We have to go save him!"

"Yes, Hitomi," Allen said with forced patience, "But we can't just go storming in unprepared. We have to all go in as a group or we'll be caught with our metaphorical pants down and they'll massacre us."

"I don't care!" she shouted angrily, ferociously, amazed at how she sounded so much like Merle, "We have to go now!"

The blond-haired knight opened his mouth to speak, but Hitomi only rolled her eyes and ran in the direction of Zaibach, holding onto the heavy sword in her arms. The least she could do was bring him a weapon to fight with!

"Hitomi!" Allen shouted after her and she knew that they were chasing after her, but she didn't slow down or stop. She had to keep going and she would be damned to Hell if she stopped just so that the others could catch up. She knew how likely it would be that Van could be killed because she took the time to stop and wait for her buddies to catch up.

She pumped her arms harder, willing herself to go faster and she managed to go just a tiny bit quicker, but she knew this pace wouldn't last forever. Her heart was already feeling like it was going to burst at any time... but she didn't—couldn't—stop.

_Van... I'll move the heavens and the earth to save you... God knows I'd let my heart burst if it meant giving you a chance at life._

* * *

Van got lucky and managed to catch one of the guards sleeping on the job. He managed to steal a single dagger and the man's shield before he heard the steadily-growing echoes of Dilandau's raving rant about how Van should fight him like a man.

"... what are you, you sorry, sucked up, flea-infested, ass-wiping insect of a man?" he was shouting on the top of his lungs, "What are you—chicken?! Are you a chicken, Van? Come on out and tell me, Van! Come out and tell me you're not a chicken! That's right! You won't because you _are_ a chicken!" He then burst out in maniacal laughter and Van didn't have time to see him come rushing into the corridor, waving his sword every which way because he was running for his life once again.

He rounded a corner and turned into another stone corridor, but this time a guard was standing there. Not bothering to slow down, Van reached out an arm and allowed it to connect wit the man as he ran passed. He paused only to steal what weapons the man had and cursed his luck when he found no sword. "Dammit," he hissed, took the man's Combat knife and put it with the dagger he had found, and then started running again.

"Come on, Van!" Dilandau was still shouting, "Have a speck of dignity for yourself! Be a man and come and _fight me_!" Never had he ever sounded so utterly mad.

At the end of the corridor, Van found a staircase that led both up and down. He took the flight that led downward and hoped Dilandau would take the one leading up. He was disappointed once again.

"Oh, give me a break!" he exclaimed with exasperation and quickened his pace until he was practically flying down the stairs.

* * *

Finally, Hitomi made it into Zaibach, but she still didn't stop. She had to find the area of this place that had been untouched by any bombs or violence. That was hard seeing as everything she saw was destroyed.

The villagers were scurrying around like little mice and it seemed that most of them weren't paying a speck of attention on her. The ones that did, however, avoided her like the Bubonic Plague... probably because of the sword she held in her arms. She narrowly missed colliding into a few people as she ran, but didn't stop to keep from running into them, just swerved around with an apology.

Then, as though God has bestowed a miracle upon her, she found the buildings that had been in the vision Van had given her. She thanked Folken up in Heaven and then rushed inside the building at the center of the buildings untouched by violence.

She used the first staircase she found to head up. She just hoped she'd find Van soon before it was too late.

* * *

A/N: Got get him, Hitomi! Go get your man! XD


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Wootage! Hitomi and Van finally meet up! Hoorah! After all these chapters, they're finally gonna be face-to-face! XD

* * *

The staircase that Hitomi was now walking through was dimly lit by torches that were placed every ten steps and she found that she could barely see. The lack of light didn't affect her ears, however, and she could hear the faint echoes of either enraged or ecstatic-to-the-point-of-being-disturbing voices shouting at the top of their lungs. She couldn't quite make out the words, but she could guess what they were.

Dilandau was having some fun... most likely with Van.

Then, something crashed into her and she went tumbling down the stairs. Luckily, she had just started up the fourth flight and she only went down about ten steps. Still, those stairs hurt like hell and, when her head cracked against the wall, stars exploded into her vision and they were all she could see.

Move...!" the person that had crashed into her exclaimed fiercely and she howled in fear when he nearly stepped on her leg. At the sound of her cry, the figure stopped on the top step of the third flight and looked back at her. "H-Hitomi...?"

"Who's there?" she asked in a breathless whisper, finally taking the time to catch some severely needed breath. She was still blinded by the dancing lights in front of her eyes, so she couldn't see the man. "Who is it?"

Then, strong arms wrapped around her and she was hefted up. The man that had pushed her down all those stairs was now hugging her, whispering her name in her ear. "Hitomi... my Hitomi... it's been too long, my Hitomi."

The lights began to recede, but it was still too dark to see the man's face, so she raised a shaking hand to caress his cheek. He leaned into the caress and she gasped. "V-Van...?"

"Hitomi," he whispered in reply. Then, Dilandau's shouting reminded them of where they were and what they were doing there and Van said quickly, "We have to get out of here."

"I brought you a sword," she said positively, wriggling out of his hold so that she could drop to her knees and feel around for the weapon she had dropped during her descent down the stairs. Then, her fingers landed on the sheath and she uttered an "ah-ha!" and stood with it in hand. She handed it over to him and said, "You said you had a dagger but, if its Dilandau we're up against, a dagger just isn't going to cut it."

Van took the sword, unsheathed it and looked it over. "This must belong to Allen?"

She nodded. "He gave it to me to use, but... I-I don't know how to use a sword. Besides, you need it more than I do."

The shouting was getting louder and Dilandau drew nearer, but either Van no longer heard it or he no longer cared. He gave her a quick kiss on the lips then turned toward the voice. "Why don't you go stand on the other flight? I don't want you to get hurt."

"Uh... u-uh... y-yeah... sure... okay." Her cheeks as red as roses, her eyes wide as saucers, her lips wanting another kiss and her arms wanting to cling onto Van, she ducked down into the flight of stairs Van had been just about to descend and waited there.

She heard the sound of descending footsteps and she knew that Dilandau had arrived. "Ah, so you've finally decided to fight, huh?" he asked with a satisfied chuckle, "Good... then this'll actually be fun instead of the boring chore I'd been expecting."

"Well, now I have my good luck charm with me."

Hitomi's heart swelled at that comment and she peeked around the corner to see Dilandau and Van facing off, their swords drawn, both in a fighting stance. She crossed her fingers on one hand and used the other to hold the pendant in her fist. She remembered that she still had to give it to Van.

_I'll give it to him after this fight... it'll be symbolic._

So, she waited as patiently as she could manage and clasped the pendant tighter in her hand, murmuring a silent prayer for this to be a short battle and for Dilandau to be the one to fall. So, she watched with rapt attention as the two continued to stand in front of each other, quite content to wait the other out.

"Come on, Van," she whispered, the tension growing inside her with every second that passed by while the two men remained as motionless as statues. "Come on, you beat him once, you can beat him again."

_Hitomi, _Van's voice whispered in her mind and she held the pendant even tighter, closing her eyes and leaning her forehead on the wall, _I love you. No matter how this battle ends, I'm glad I got to see you again so that I could tell you that. I love you._

"Don't say that," she whispered, tears welling in her eyes, "Please don't say that. You're going to get through this battle and you will walk away from it with me at your side. No matter what I have to do, you will walk away."

"You don't seem very angry, Van," Dilandau said not without some disappointment, "That's no good. You're not as strong when you're not angry and that's going to ruin my fun. Come on, get angry... for me?"

"Nope," Van answered and then raised the sword to point it at Dilandau's throat. Dilandau did the same, pointing his blade at Van's chest. "Sorry, Dilly, but I'm not really in the mood to humor you at the moment, so I'm going to finish this as soon as possible." And then, as though in sync with one another, they both lunged at each other at the same time.

"Be safe," Hitomi whispered.

* * *

A/N: Yes, Vanny! Be safe! Dun let Dilly-sama kill you! But... don't kill him, either, 'kay?


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Sad chapter... but the conclusion is almost here, so don't fret, my lovelies.

* * *

Both Van and Dilandau wound up unable to stab the other because they both had to block the other's attack. They each grabbed a fistful of their opponent's hair and tugged to reveal their bare necks but, once again, neither could do any real attack because they had to keep up the defensive. Hitomi was mesmerized by how they both moved as though their brains were connected. They both jumped backward at the same time and then rushed forward again, their swords clashing together with a loud clang.

That was when the real fighting began. Their swords, so quickly Hitomi could barely see them, clashed more times than she could count and the sounds they made as they connected made her ears ring. But she watched with growing tension as they ran at each other once again, tried to keep up their defenses and land a blow at the same time, jump back and then repeat the process once again.

Then, she heard the voice... Van's voice. But it wasn't coming from Van and it wasn't in her head. It was behind her. "Hitomi! Hey, what're you doing, Hitomi? Why are you just standing there? Hey—"

She turned to see Robo-Van and Allen. Allen had his hand over Robo-Van's mouth while the little robot continued to talk as though the hand wasn't even there. He seemed to be quite excited to see her again and Allen looked absolutely infuriated. She put a finger to her lips and he shut up, then turned to see both Van and Dilandau looking in her direction. Van looked horrified and Dilandau looked delighted.

That was when Dilandau rushed forward, not to attack Van, but to get to her. She tried to jump out of the way, but he was way too fast and he had wrapped an arm around her waist and used the other hand to hold the sword to her neck. She couldn't even scream or else the blade would slice her throat open.

"Hi... Hitomi," Van murmured, taking a step toward her, a look of pure and complete horror on his face, the sword she had given him held loosely in a hand that was dangling at his side. "Hitomi!" he shouted louder, that horror giving way to anger.

Dilandau laughed with, despite the situation and the owner of the laugh, child-like glee and asked, "Doesn't it just fire you up, Vanny? Doesn't it just infuriate you? I've got your little girlfriend right here and, in mere seconds, she could be dead. Then what would you do?"

"Dilandau," Van said his name like a curse and his face twisted into animal-like fury. He took a step closer, but Dilandau would have none of that. He tightened his grip and Hitomi winced when the blade broke through skin and shuddered as a trail of blood flowed down the gentle curve of her neck.

"Doesn't it just kill you?" Dilandau persisted. "Well then get angry. Get very angry, Van! Hate me so much that you'll be stronger! So that you'll be more of a challenge! Come on!" He was now shouting so loud and with such little control that spit was spraying from his mouth with every word and his shoulders were shaking with laughter. He really was quite mad. "Come on!" He shouted one more time and then pushed Hitomi out of the way.

She would have gone tumbling down several flights of stairs if Allen hadn't been there to catch her.

Upon tossing Hitomi aside, Dilandau charged toward Van, sword raised and Van met him in the middle, his sword at a more defensive angle so that the man attacking him wouldn't bury is sword in his brain. And they started fighting again... but Van showed a fervor the likes of which Hitomi had never seen. He was charging much faster, his blows were quicker and aimed with more offensive aim than defensive. He seemed to care less about Dilandau landing a blow on him than him landing a blow on Dilandau.

That was when a repeat of her latest vision popped up. The sound of Van's cry of pain and Dilandau's laughter. Was Van going to die because he was so angry at Dilandau for using her as a pawn that he had lost any consideration for the vulnerability of his own life just to kill him? Was he really that angry? But she hadn't even been hurt! A tiny scratch, that was it!

"No..." she whispered, holding onto the pendant once again as Allen's hands tightened their grip on her shoulders, telling her that he had come to the same conclusion. "No..." Tears welled in her eyes as she saw Dilandau deflect Van's sword and then take advantage of a painfully obvious opening Van had left.

Van's anger hadn't made him stronger, it had made him less aware of the ease with which Dilandau could take his life... and Dilandau had known that all along.

As Dilandau's sword rushed forward, she shrugged Allen's hands from her shoulders and rushed forward despite his loud protests. "NOOOOO!" she cried one last time and pushed Van out of the way. That was when she fully knew what it was she had done. She had forfeited her own life for Van's sake and now she was going to die. She was going to move the heavens for Van and the cost for such a thing was for her to be ripped away from this life by a hunk of metal held by a raving lunatic.

As the blade pierced her flesh, she didn't cry out, she only gave a weak, pain-filled smile as she fell to the floor. It hurt terribly and the feeling of the blood spilling from the wound really wasn't particularly pleasant. It became increasingly hard to breathe and then her eyes, which had been staring up at Van, drooped closed. The last thing she heard as the darkness swallowed her whole was Dilandau's horrid laughter and Van's bone-chilling cry of pain. She had finally moved the heavens for Van... and now she could leave peacefully.

* * *

A/N: That seems like a good place to end tis chapter. Sorry for the shortness! ... Oh, and for killing Hitomi n.n;


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Alright... so I'm gonna take pity on all of you Hitomi lovers... you'll understand what I mean later.

* * *

Van's scream as he watched Hitomi's eyes close was one of pain and anger... but, most of all, sadness. Hitomi had forfeited her own life to save his. How had this happened? How could he have let this happen? How could he have not seen this coming? Most of all, the question running through his mind was "What now?" The love of his life, his reason for getting out of bed in the morning, the reason why he was fighting Dilandau right now... she was dead.

"I can't believe it," Robo-Van murmured, his words completely ignored by the others as they dealt with whatever they were doing. "Hitomi... sh-she's dead?"

Dilandau laughed. This infuriated Van and he wanted to rip the man's heart out of his chest and step on it, but he saw no point in it. What would be the point? Even if he did survive this fight, Hitomi would still be dead. So, he placed a kiss to Hitomi's forehead, then to her slightly parted lips, whispered his love for her into her deaf ears and then looked up to Dilandau with cold and dead eyes.

Dilandau raised his sword to lop off Van's head, but then Allen snuck up on him and pulled him away. He wrapped an arm around Dilandau's neck and choked him until he dropped his sword. He then forced the man against the wall and started questioning.

"What the hell did you come back for?" he hissed, "Why couldn't you leave Celena alone?"

"Celena?" Dilandau croaked and then spat out a bark of laughter. "Celena is dead! She was dead the moment I was born and it's time for you to get that through your thick skull. I just let her come back for a little while so that I could plot my revenge and now here I am. You'll never see precious Celena again."

Allen let out a furious cry and jerked back a fist, slamming it into the man's face. When he pulled back the fist, now coated with blood, Dilandau's nose was twisted at a horrible angle and an impossible amount of blood spewed from it. "And what about the little girl back in Austuria? Who is that and what did you do to her to make her like Celena?"

"Bwe didden jus' reblace Ban, oo bool," Dilandau answered, his broken nose and the blood disfiguring the words he spoke, "Bwe dook Celeda, doo, so bwe lebt a robot bor 'er, doo."

"She's... a robot?"

He nodded and gave a cocky grin that looked absolutely horrible with the blood and disfigured nose.

Allen gave another cry and, instead of punching him again, he unsheathed his sword and ran Dilandau through with it. He gave a little grunt and then collapsed against Allen's chest. Allen moved to the side so that Dilandau could fall to the floor and his skull made a disgusting cracking sound as his forehead hit the stone floor. If the stab wound hadn't killed him, the brain trauma would have.

Van leaned over Hitomi, tears in his eyes as he caressed her cheeks. This was the first time he was able to look into her face without fearing for his life and he was now able to notice the changes in her. Her hair had grown longer, her features had a subtle maturity to them and she was most definitely taller than when he'd last seen her. She was beautiful. "Hitomi," he whispered, resting his head on her chest. "Hitomi... my Hitomi."

Allen sighed and said, "Van... we need to get back. Dryden will leave without us if we're not back by a certain time."

Van showed no acknowledgment that the other man had spoken. He just clung to the dead girl laying on the ground and cried. No, crying wasn't the proper term; sobbing was more like it. "Hitomi," he whined and held tighter to her.

Allen sighed again and walked toward Van. He grabbed the black-haired boy by the shoulders and tried to pull him up, but he fought against it.

"No!" he cried, "No, dammit! I'm not leaving her!"

"Goddammit, Van, she might not even be dead, you idiot!" the blond shouted impatiently and pushed Van out of the way. He went tumbling to the side, but Allen hadn't noticed. He had knelt beside Hitomi and placed the index and middle fingers to the pressure point on her neck. He waited a moment then nodded. "Its there. She's alive, but just barely."

Van looked like he didn't believe it and rushed forward. He replaced Allen's fingers on her neck and felt for himself the very faint pulse that was there. "She's alive!" he cried and looked up to Allen. "She's alive!"

Allen nodded, pulled a walkie-talkie out of a pocket and pushed down a button. "It's me. Bring the Crusade round. There's a tracking device in this radio, so you can find us. Be quick about it, too, or else Hitomi's going to die, over."

"Is that any way to talk to your king, over?" Dryden's impatient voice asked.

Allen sighed for a third time and added, "Milord, over."

"That's better, over."

And, with that, the blond put the walkie-talkie back and turned to Van. "Are you strong enough to carry her or do you want me to do it?"

"I'll do it," he said, his eyes glistening with tears that were made with happiness. He looked like a chibi.

Allen nodded and paused so that Van could stand and pick up Hitomi. They both turned toward the stairs, but, before they left, Allen turned toward Dilandau and bit back the tears. Van's Hitomi was alive... but he was never going to see Celena again. He turned back toward the stairs and all three of them left.

_

* * *

_"People's emotions can sometimes move the heavens..."

Hitomi turned toward the voice and found Folken. He was smiling warmly at her, looking so tall and powerful and yet so kind and innocent all at the same time. His ruby eyes showed wisdom and knowledge and Hitomi finally realized what was going on. She was in Heaven. She was never going to see Van again.

"You did a very good deed for my brother," he told her, the softness of his voice comforting the sorrow she felt. "Such a deed cannot go unrewarded."

She blinked in confusion. "Is this some initiation thing?"

His smile widened and he shook his head. "No, quite the opposite, Hitomi; thus is your expulsion."

"E-Expulsion?"

"This is something only I am doing and it is only for you. You gave up a lot for the one you loved when you had no reason to. Not only just the person you love more than anybody, but the person I love more than anything, also."

"I don't understand. You sacrificed yourself, too. Why didn't somebody do this for you?"

"I did what I did to make amends for my mistakes. You did what you did for pure love. I admire such courage and spirit."

"So... what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to send you back."

"Send... me back?"

He nodded. "Unfortunately, it will not be forever. I have enough power to allow you to live for a few years, but then you two will be able to have a proper goodbye instead of something as tragic as this."

"A few years is a few years more than I had been expecting," she told him and tears welled in her eyes. She rushed forward and hugged Folken who held her back.

Folken nodded and said, "Goodbye, my sister-in-law."

"Say goodbye to my brother for me, okay?" she heard the voice of Celena whisper into her ear and, with that, an odd sort of energy flowed through her and she felt her consciousness slip away.

Back on Gaea, Millerna sewed one more stitch onto Hitomi's wound and then covered it with gauze. She turned to the others with a weary smile and said, "It'll take some time for her to recover, but she's going to live."

* * *

A/N: See? Pity. X3


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Oh, dear lord... almost seventeen months since I last updated and _now_ I decide to post up a chapter? I suck...

* * *

Dim light shone through the sliver of space between the curtains hanging from a window on the Crusade when Hitomi woke up. Her head was pounding, her throat throbbing and the rest of her body was a big mass of muddled-up aches and pains.

She was probably dehydrated, her sleep-fogged mind decided, and the other aches were most likely a mixture of her stab wound and having been dragged to the Netherworld and back. She let out a hoarse groan at just the thought of all she'd been through since coming to Gaea. Her voice was dry, husky, it almost seemed like it wasn't her own.

"H-Hitomi...?"

She slowly turned her head, staring groggily at the source of the voice... only to groan again. Maybe her headache was less from dehydration and more from a very serious concussion because she was suddenly seeing double. Sitting at her bedside were two Vans, both wearing identical expressions of worried relief. She blinked her eyes a few times, trying to dispel the illusion, but still both remained.

Right. Now she remembered. One of them was Van and the other was a retarded robot who _thought_ he was Van.

"Van...?" she asked softly, unable to tell which one was the real Fanelian king by sight alone.

Both blinked their acknowledgement, the action performed in perfect unison.

_Great..._ Now how was she supposed to tell the two apart? She pursed her lips in thought for several moments before finally deciding what it was she had to do and telling them, "Van is sexy."

She smirked weakly in triumph when the Van on the right blushed, lowering his head to hide his eyes behind midnight black hair while the one on the left replied proudly, "Damn straight!"

She forced back a giggle, knowing the action would only be painful at this point, and explained to Robo-Van, "Sorry, but the real Van is way too shy to agree with something like that." The smile fell, however, and she asked, "If... um... if you don't mind, could I have a private conversation with Van?"

"But... I..."

"You can come back right after, I promise. Why don't you go grab Merle while we chat?"

He let out a dejected sigh and stood, leaving the room and closing the door behind him while Van watched after him with bemusement. Seeing a clone of him that acted so completely opposite was probably a big shock for him.

Hitomi reached out a hand and placed it over his, stroking his knuckles with her thumb affectionately. "Van..." she whispered.

"Hitomi..." Van whispered, turning back to her and leaning forward. He kissed the hand that was over his own. "How are you feeling? Are you in any pain? Should I go fetch Millerna?"

She shook her head. "It's nothing I can't handle. Just... don't leave me. I want you beside me a little longer." When he smiled and nodded, she asked, "How are you?"

"Now that you're here? I'm perfect."

Her smile widened slightly, but it quickly died when a flash of Folken's face entered her mind, reminding her of his message.

She was going to die... she was going to leave Van and Fanelia and Gaea. She was going to leave Merle and Allen, Millerna and Dryden and Robo-Van... When Folken had told her she'd have a few years, she'd been overjoyed. She'd have three long years, 1095 days in which to bask in Van's love, but now... now it seemed like three _short_ years. _Only_ 1095 days.

"... Hitomi?" Van's worried voice broke through her thoughts and pulled her back to the present. "Are you... okay?"

Oh, God, Van... How was she going to tell him? How _could_ she tell him? "I-I'm fine."

He looked relieved for a moment before the expression gave way to anger and he hissed, "Zaibach will pay for hurting you, Hitomi. I swear it!"

"What? N-No, no more fighting!" she said quickly, forgetting about her dry throat, "I'm fine, I'm alive—" for now—"and we're together. There's no more reason for you to fight!"

"Dilandau may be dead, but Zaibach's going to continue fighting. I want to live with you in a world that is at peace, so even though it might take some time—"

"Time is one thing I don't have," she blurted out before she could stop herself. She gasped when she realized what she'd done, her hand covering her hand with shock. _Crap..._

"What?" Van asked, his voice a whisper, "What is thast supposed to mean?"

She sighed, closing her eyes. She supposed that she'd have to tell him eventually and that doing it sooner rather than later would be preferable, so she admitted, "I-I'm dying, Van."

His brow furrowed and he shook his head with disbelief. "No... how can that be? Millerna saved me. She told me that you were all better. How can you be dying when..." He stopped, staring at our connected hands before whispering, "What happened?"

"Um... during the battle, I wound up on the border of life and death and Folken came to meet me. He told me that he was grateful that I had saved your life and that he would repay me by sending me back to you. But... he said that it can only be temporary."

A long silence hung between them, Van's face slowly growing more and more pale as the implications of what Hitomi had said dawned on him. He reached out, grasping the hand she was using to hold his other hand and squeeze it gently. His shoulders trembled as he asked, "How long?"

"A few years, maybe."

Tears welled in his eyes and he quickly shut them as his whole body began to tremble with suppressed sobs."Wh... Wh-Wh... What can I do?"

"Stay with me," she answered softly, reaching out and wiping away his tears as they fell, "Be with me and love me and... please... just don't fight. I want us to be together for the rest of my life."

He nodded, leaning his cheek into her hand as he replied, "Of course, Hitomi... of course. I-I'll do my best and I'm sure I'll be able to fit fifty years of love into three."

It was Hitomi's turn to start crying. Tears spilled from her eyes and she choked back a sob, throwing her arms around him. His lips descended upon her own and she welcomed them gladly, scooching to the side to make room for her lover to lie beside her.

They lay like that for a long time. Long enough for Robo-Van to come back with Merle, long enough for them to whisper the news to them and long enough for them to cry themselves to sleep. They didn't dare let each other go out of fear that they might wake and find their lover gone.

The countdown had begun.

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A/N: It's the fiiiinaaaaal cooouuuuntdooooown! Doodlooodoo doodloodoodoo!


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Well, I'm guessing that, not counting this chapter, there should be about two or three chapters left. Please enjoy the chapter and I'm updating quickly to make up for the horrible fifteenth chapter wait-time ^^;

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"...and so, from this moment on," Van said, sitting at the head of the conference table with Hitomi on his right and Merle on his left. They were sitting in a consultation with the heads of the Austurian monarchy—Dryden, Millerna and Allen as a witness—, planning the next step for the war. "Fanelia is a neutral nation and we will play no part in future battles."

Allen's eyes widened as he gawked at Van from across the table. "You can't be serious! Are you out of your mind? You can't honestly tell us you're backing out! I mean, I understand you almost lost Hitomi abd you're afraid, but you can't just quit!"

"This isn't about that. This is about the future. How can Hitomi and I live happily together while we're at war? I know you want to avenge Celena and I really am sorry, but I can't help you."

"You realize you're dooming Gaea to destruction, don't you?"

Hitomi sighed, deciding to add her opinion in the matter. "Do you remember the Tarot reading I did? It doesn't matter what anybody does, Gaea's going to fall. I think that our best choice is to get as many people out of here as soon as possible."

"Oh, so, since you got what you wanted, you don't care about the rest of the rest of the war. Screw the people who have a reason to be in the war and defend their home."

"Allen," Dryden growled, glaring at the blond-haired knight, "Just because you're angry doesn't give you the right to take it out on Hitomi. Their decision may be... different and we may not agree with it, but—"

"I'm dying," Hitomi suddenly blurted out.

A long silence hung over everybody's heads, Dryden looking shocked, Millerna confused and Allen looked absolutely horrified. She looked to Van to see him sitting there with his head down, his bangs hiding the tears in his eyes.

She held his hand under the table before telling them, "I have only three years to live— less than that now—and I want to spend the last remaining time I have left with Van. If that makes me selfish like you pointed out, Allen, then I don't care. This world's fate is set, just as my own is, and I just want to make sure that the people I care about have a future. If that means abandoning a meaningless war, then so be it!" She stood and placed her hands on the table, leaning forward so she could hiss at Allen, "You're not the only one who's lost something through this war."

Allen paled and he finally managed to break out of his stupor. He closed his eyes for a moment before looking up at Hitomi and saying, "I'm sorry, Hitomi. I suppose I got a bit ahead of myself there. You and I aren't so different after all."

Dryden nodded to some mental note and pitched in, "As everybody here knows, I'm a seller, not a fighter, so getting out of this war by any means is always a good idea in my mind. I might not believe in all that occult fortune-telling voodoo mumbo-jumbo, but I'm going to have to agree with it this time."

"But... the war..." Allen murmured.

"Do you really want to die for nothing?" Millerna asked, tears in her own eyes. "The one person who had tormented Celena the most—Dilandau—is dead. Why can't you just give up now? We've fought as long and hard as we could and... it's time to move on. Besides, I don't want to raise my baby during a war."

Allen sighed, bowing his head with relent. Let's get as many people onto the Mystic Moon as we can. I'm sure there's somewhere that we can go where we won't cause too much of a disturbance."

"I'm not going."

Everybody froze for a moment, recognizing the voice immediately, and finally managed to make their bodies move enough to turn toward the door where Robo-Van stood. His face had lost its goofy, boyish countenance and was now a mask of determination, his eyes showing no hint that he might not have been serious.

"What?" Hitomi asked softly, taking a few steps in the robot's direction. "But... why not? Why do you want to stay here when you could go somewhere safe?"

His lips quirked up in a sad smile and he tilted his head to the side, enjoying the concern Hitomi showed for him before he answered, "Ever since I found out that I wasn't really Van, I tried to make myself into somebody else. I tried to be the complete opposite so that I could be... well, be an individual. But I'm still just Robo-Van. So, it's time for me to make myself into somebody else. I'll be a hero of Gaea. All I'll need is Escaflowne's energist and I'll use it to transport as many people to the Mystic Moon as I can when you all leave."

"N-No!" Hitomi exclaimed, "Y-You can't just... we'll make somebody else do it. You need to come with us!"

Tears actually welled in his eyes and Hitomi shook her head. She doubted that crying was a part of the robot's programming, so that meant... "You've somehow become... human."

"That would be thanks to you, Hitomi," Robo-Van replied, slowly walking toward her and wrapping his arms around her. "I guess you could say I'm Pinocchio now. I'm a real boy now... I just wonder what random appendage grows when I lie."

Hitomi let out a choked-up sob, wrapping her arms around him and holding him tightly. "You _are_ an individual, Robo—no... Escavan."

He melted into her embrace, holding her tightly as he whispered into her ear, "Don't forget to give Van the necklace. That's where it really belongs. I love you."

She buried her face in his shoulder, holding him tighter. "Please reconsider. You can come with us."

"It's too late," he replied and he stepped back, pulling out of the embrace to show her the energist for the Escaflowne. "Everybody, gather together and I'll send you to your new home.

Hitomi reluctantly stepped backward, taking Van's hand as Escavan lifted the energist into the air. Suddenly, a beam of light surrounded them and the last thing she saw before she left for the Mystic Moon was the boy's lips moving, whispering, "I'll move the heavens for you."

And then he was gone.

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A/N: A part of me died a little inside while writing this chapter. How could anybody have known that Robo—Escavan had been in so much pain? *woes*


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